DVD home theater experience versus film quality (1 Viewer)

[WillKTaylor]

I'm sitting around on Sunday afternoon with Lost World: JP II playing in the background and a question comes to mind. What films have people added to their DVD collections solely for home theater enjoyment, based on audio/video presentation, instead of for film content quality (story, acting, scripting, working in combination) or for that matter, DVD extras? I'm not curious about a DVD purchased for extras. There's a definate distinction between the sensory experiences one obtains from a home theater environment than the thoughtful, life changing ones that can be had through a quality film viewed on a 19" TV with one dedicated channel of audio. If a film on DVD can hit these marks on both ends, the more power to us.

Chalk this up to guilty pleasures if you will. I'm sure many on this site would consider themselves seasoned film connoisseurs who would perish the thought of purchasing something such as Titan AE, just because the DVD contains a well mastered audio track. Then again, that's also debatable. But I believe that you know what I mean. Even still, there has to be something out there that fits the bill even for a snobby film elitest. OK .. forget I mentioned "snobby" !

Some that I have purchased if not only for benefits of home theater and intend to keep (as some in my collection are currently under review for spring cleaning ):

Jurassic Park 2/3 [Highlight: sound track/surrounds, animatronics/CGI blending]
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within [Highlight: sound track, CGI]
Fast and Furious [Highlight: sound track]
Independence Day [Highlight: sound track, mindless sci fi fun! - "now that's a close encounter"]
Pearl Harbor (2 disc) [Highlight: sound track, CGI sequences]
Titan AE [Highlight: sound track - Ice Rings of Tigrin]
U571 [Highlight: sound track]
Star Wars Epis. 1 and 2 [Highlight: (soundtrack on ep 1 only), video, novelty factor]

Thanks for participating .....

 

[BillGo]

I have, what I consider, an excellent HT system, especially the audio part. However, there is only so much time I can devote to watching DVDs, including the more than 300 DVDs I own.

Sorry to say, with the almost overwhelming choice of movies on DVD, I can't justify purchasing, or even renting, BAD movies, such as the ones you list, for any purpose.

 

[Kai Zas]

Oh I've got dozens of those. I realy enjoy watching a braindead flick every now and then. Check my collection, you'll find nearly every film you mentioned there in my list. There are some titles of which I'm not proud, titles I've bought for the flash and the bang. But I don't realy care about other people's opignions of what I should or shouldn't own. It's my collection, and I'm proud of it as a whole.

Sometimes, I even buy films I didn't like very much when they were first released, like Spiderman and The Hulk. But they do look mighty good on my big screen

 

[Matt Stone]

Good AV quality on a disc may be a factor in determining a purchase, but it's never the only thing I take into account. For example...I own The Fast and the Furious. It has a great soundtrack, and that was certainly a big factor in deciding to buy it, but so was price ($5.00) and whether or not I liked the film (I marginally do). I love a good soundtrack, but usually the movies that I like (as far as modern action flicks are concerned) have them. Examples would be the LOTR flicks, Star Wars, X-Men, etc.

On the other hand, I've been known to buy films based on price alone . The Walmart discount bin is killing me, because I just keep justifying bad movies by saying to myself that it's almost as cheap as a rental.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Just one... The Haunting dts

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I've yet to buy a single dvd for it's demo potential alone.
I've got to at least like the movie before I'll buy it. A few years ago the demo dvd everyone was raving about was Lost In Space, a film I'd suffered through in the theater and had no interest in owning whatsoever.

Where I've been disappointed is when I've bought something solely based on the hype from the cineastes around here, only to be bored or annoyed to tears. Happens infrequently but does happen.

Helpful hint: if a thread about a movie starts exploring the biblical meaning of a rain of rubber frogs, run away quickly. This is especially true if it's the first larger budget effort by an enfant terrible director with more ego than common sense.

 

[Kai Zas]

Indeed, didn't like it. Bought it sight unseen after reading about it here.

 

[MarkHastings]

I find that if I run into a blind buy that I didn't care for, the experience in my HT usually justifies the cost of the disc as opposed to the cost of a bad movie in the theater.

Example, If I had paid $8 to see Tomb Raider II in the theaters, I'd probably be mad, but watching it at home (i.e. all the cool sound effects) seemed to make it more enjoyable. I guess it's the psychological aspect of having such an awesome experience at home. In fact, in relation to the size of theaters, some of our HT's may even sound better.

This has also been my downfall for buying WAY too many discs. Many movies that I know I'd hate in the theater, seem to end up on my DVD shelf because I know I'll enjoy them better at home. :b

 

[JonZ]

I've NEVER bought a DVD becuase of its video or audio impressiveness.

 

[MarkHastings]

That's too bad. :frowning:

I have some 3-D animation DVD's that are made solely for their visual/audio experience.

 

[Barry_B_B]

Ditto on The Haunting :b

 

[Mike Williams]

Although I did actually enjoy the movie as a kid, I'd have to say that the one movie that sits on my shelf for it's soundtrack is "Heavy Metal." I also liked it enough to get the Superbit when it came out too.

 

[Dick]

ANACONDA. Silly movie, but the soundscape is mind-blowing and beautiful... puts you right in the jungle environment, and I'm a sucker for jungle movies.

 

[RobertR]

I've never bought a movie purely for A/V demonstration purposes.

I do find it an amusing irony that people in this thread are talking about how they enjoy watching some movies strictly as A/V demos and ignoring story, script, plot, etc., while in another thread people are being criticized for technologically skipping parts of films they don't like.

 

[clayton b]

I used to buy films based on how they sound on my HT. Back in the LD days mind blowing soundtracks were not as common as they are today. But nowadays so many DVD's have great sounding DTS and DD tracks that there's no point shelling out for a crappy movie that you don't like just because it sounds great. Chances are there's dozens of films that you do like that also sound great, so there's no point wasting cash.

 

[Kai Zas]

Unless you secretly do like the movie but don't want anyone to know the REAL reasen why you bought it. So while you're pointing out the finer details about the soundtrack to your friends (who are just there to admire Angelina Jolies breasts on your big screen) or the absolutely edge-enhancement free picture, you're laughing on the inside and wondering what makes Lara Croft better that Indiana Jones.

 

[Brent Bridgeman]

"The Fifth Element" Superbit. I like quite a bit of the movie, but the Chris Tucker character just totally takes me out of what is otherwise an enjoyable sci-fi flick. Enough so that I probably wouldn't have bought it if it didn't look so dang good. Tiny Lister as the President is a bit of a stretch too.